Relationship among cognitive emotion strategy, social support and perceived stress in nursing staff

Abstract

Objective To explore the differences in the selection of cognitive-emotional regulation strategies between nurses with normal perceived stress scores and those with at-risk scores, and explore the predictive effects of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support on perceived stress in the nursing staff. Methods We surveyed a total of 1 354 nurses using the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Social Support Rating Scale. Mediation analysis with structural equation modeling was conducted to test the mediating effect of social support on the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation strategy and perceived stress. Results The nurses with normal and hazardous stress scores showed significant differences in the scores for all the dimensions of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support (P < 0.01). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the perceived stress scores (24.82±8.39) were negatively correlated with the scores of positive emotion regulation strategy (65.76±10.06; r=-0.295, P < 0.01), subjective support (24.02±4.77; r=-0.306, P < 0.01), Objective support (9.55±2.99; r=-0.196, P < 0.01) and utilization of support (7.94±1.84; r=-0.306, P < 0.01), and positively correlated with the score of negative emotional regulation strategy (42.53±8.75; r=0.472, P < 0.01). Multivariate regression analysis showed that most of the dimensions of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support were predictive of the level of perceived stress. Mediation analysis indicated a partial mediating effect of social support on the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and perceived stress: The mediating effect between self-blame and perceived stress accounted for 9.8% of the total effect, that between catastrophization and perceived stress accounted for 12.9%, that between positive re-focus and perceived stress accounted for 21.1%, and that between positive re-evaluation and perceived stress accounted for 19.0% (All P < 0.05). Conclusion The nurses who choose positive emotion regulation strategy and with a good social support condition have lower levels of perceived stress, and a negative emotion regulation strategy is associated with an increased level of perceived stress. Cognitive emotional regulation strategies and social support have significant predictive effects on perceived stress.

Keywords

• cognitive emotion
• regulation strategy
• social support
• perceived stress
• nurses